Set The Fire To The Third Bar
by redandbluetastepurple
Summary: Mulder and Scully's thought during the time he was away 'protecting' William... Better than it sounds :D
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **I got most of my insperation for this fic from the song: Set The Fire To The Third Bar by Snow Patrol (and Martha Wainright) It's a great song and I'd suggest you listen to it :) I've put the lyrics at the end, and if you read them you'll probably see where the insperation comes from. I may add some more to this, I don't know yet, but please tell me what you think :D

By the way, I haven't really done more than spell check this, so please point out any mistakes and I'll try and change them :)

* * *

><p><span>Set The Fire To The Third Bar<span>

By kenikigenikai

Her finger dragged slowly across the slightly rough surface of the photograph. It traced their faces, happy and smiling. Open. The sigh that escaped her lips was silent. So were the tears that slipped from her eyes. They continued their noiseless trail down her cheeks before dropping onto the picture. The splash seemed to echo, although logically she knew it was inaudible to her ears. The small pool of water spread slowly across the laminated surface. Another tear rolled down her face, across the line of her jaw, before dropping to join the first, helping to expand its circumference. As the tears began falling faster, the corners of her mouth curled down, suppressing the sob that was aching to get out. The desolate cloud of emotion seemed to lower, like a fog, clouding her mind and senses.

* * *

><p>He closed his eyes in a futile attempt to stem the flow of liquid; the photograph was already warped by the amount of tears it had soaked up. He pressed a gentle kiss to it, imagining it was really his partner and son. He could replay the single memory he had of them as a family, the three of them all in Scully's bedroom, hugging as he and Scully shared their first kiss in what felt like months, but was really only months. It felt like he was there all over again, but deep down he knew they weren't there, that it was just his imagination, coupled with the almost overpowering desire to see them again, playing tricks on him. It felt as though he needed to see them, like he would die if he didn't, but on top of all that he knew if he gave in, and just visited them, they would all likely wind up dead.<p>

* * *

><p>She didn't realise it was possible to miss someone so much. It was like the loss of a limb. Like the loss of all her limbs. Part of her was missing, that seemed relatively obvious. What was less apparent was the dent this took on her sanity. She had come to depend on him, mentally as well as physically. He was always there, and it was like a huge empty chasm inside of her. Like death but worse, because she knew he was out there somewhere. What she didn't know however, was whether he was cold. Hungry. Tired. In pain. Dead. That was the worst part. The unsurety was better than knowing he was dead though, she couldn't handle hearing that again.<p>

* * *

><p>He knew she missed him as much, he knew she was equally as desperate to see him, he knew she knew the risks, and he knew she knew that he knew. This made him feel marginally worse, if that was possible. This would be so much easier if he knew Scully wasn't suffering too. In a selfish minute or two, his jealousy had taken over, and his anger had begun telling him that at least Scully had William, she'd got it easy compared to him, later he hated himself for thinking, or even considering these thoughts. But the severely independent, and distrusting part of him occasionally caught up with him, when he was least expecting it. Scully stopped it, that was one of his favourite parts of her, she made him a better person.<p>

* * *

><p>She brushed the tears away. He would be upset to know she was crying, over him, again. Just as she would be to discover he was crying over her too. The same time, the same reason, different places. All they wanted was to be together. She didn't think it was too much to ask after seven years, but yet again a government conspiracy of some kind stood in their way. She just wanted it all to be over. They both had the answers they'd set out for, however much they'd wished they'd been different. They couldn't change them, Samantha was dead. She had been years before Mulder had even started looking. If she was feeling especially pessimistic she could say Melissa had died for nothing, her abduction had had no purpose, Emily's creation and subsequent death was of no use anyone. It was all worthless. This just made her cry harder.<p>

* * *

><p>To his knowledge, all of the syndicate members were dead, so there was obviously something very bad going down. Would it be easier to take Scully and William and run? Would it even be possible? Was it worth a try? They would all be happier, he was sure. Scully's family wouldn't be for sure, but could they accept it if they knew it would keep her and baby William safe? If he established contact with her again, there was a possibility they could orchestrate it without being found out. That was his new plan. Take his little family somewhere safe.<p>

* * *

><p>But through all the pain she had Mulder, and William, and she wouldn't trade them for anything in the world, because they were her world. Mulder understood her in a way no-one else had ever done before, she was no longer the black sheep in her family, because her family had changed. Her loyalties now fully lay with Mulder. She couldn't care less about what her family thought of him, she loved him, and in all fairness, that was all that mattered.<p>

* * *

><p>His fingers danced across the keys, each letter seemingly releasing all the pain and anguish he had bottled up, and allowing it to drain away. As he wrote, he could almost see her reactions, they smirks at the almost dirty remarks, the eyebrow raising at the more endearing comments. He could imagine her playing with William while she read, keeping him entertained instinctually. He couldn't wait to watch them interact, and become part of it. He had already missed so much of his son's life, but he intended to make up for it.<p>

* * *

><p>Scully carefully put the picture away, she had lasted seven years, she could last another couple of months. There was no doubt it would be hard, but she could do it. She would have to. Mulder didn't need to come home to find her some sort of emotional wreck. One day, hopefully soon, it would all be fine, and they finally have their happily ever after.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Lyrics:<strong>

I find the map and draw a straight line  
>Over rivers, farms, and state lines<br>The distance from 'A' to where you'd be  
>It's only finger-lengths that I see<br>I touch the place where I'd find your face  
>My fingers in creases of distant dark places<p>

I hang my coat up in the first bar  
>There is no peace that I've found so far<br>The laughter penetrates my silence  
>As drunken men find flaws in science<p>

Their words mostly noises  
>Ghosts with just voices<br>Your words in my memory  
>Are like music to me<p>

I'm miles from where you are,  
>I lay down on the cold ground<br>I, I pray that something picks me up  
>And sets me down in your warm arms<p>

After I have travelled so far  
>We'd set the fire to the third bar<br>We'd share each other like an island  
>Until exhausted, close our eyelids<br>And dreaming, pick up from  
>The last place we left off<br>Your soft skin is weeping  
>A joy you can't keep in<p>

I'm miles from where you are,  
>I lay down on the cold ground<br>And I, I pray that something picks me up  
>and sets me down in your warm arms<p>

I'm miles from where you are,  
>I lay down on the cold ground<br>and I, I pray that something picks me up  
>and sets me down in your warm arms<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Maggie Scully knocked cheerfully on the door. She loved her  
>daughter, but visiting her had become a lot easier since Mulder's departure,<br>and the addition of baby William. He seemed to instantly repair the divide  
>between mother and daughter, although she deep down suspected that Dana was<br>just going along with whatever she said to keep the peace. But she had never  
>tested it. She Dana's resolve would snap in an instant if a bad word was spoken<br>– however well meaning – against Fox Mulder.

She was surprised when the door remained closed, it was past 9am,  
>Dana couldn't be asleep. And her car was outside...<p>

Her knocks became more frenzied, until she yanked a key from her  
>bag and let herself in. The apartment was silent. Too silent to have people<br>there. The blinds were still pulled, and the bed wasn't made. Terror gripped at  
>her heart, and she began to call out "Dana! Dana!", to which she still received<br>no answer. She plucked the phone from the cradle, and rang her daughters cell.  
>The familiar Nokia ringtone emitted from the cell, on the table a few feet<br>away.

After thoroughly checking all the rooms again several times, she  
>collapsed onto the sofa, trying to collect her thoughts. Dana knew she was<br>coming over. Dana was no longer there, as was William. Had she left of her own  
>volition? Or had she been extracted by force? If Dana chose to leave, what<br>would she take with her? Photographs. Family presents. The small things that  
>she deeply treasured, that couldn't be replaced.<p>

With a heavy heart, Maggie Scully made her way into her daughter's  
>bedroom. Pushing away any feelings of intrusion she began opening drawers and<br>sorting through. She found an album, haphazardly shoved in on top of other  
>paraphernalia. It became obvious as she flicked through it that Dana had<br>removed photos with significant meanings. From the caption she could tell they  
>were photographs of her and her father, and sister, and brothers. Photos of her<br>and Mulder, and her nieces and nephews at various family gatherings. In other  
>words, memories.<p>

Sighing deeply, she moved towards her bedside cabinet. She deemed  
>the invasion of privacy acceptable; these were extreme circumstances after all.<br>Gone was her gun, her bible and dream-catcher Melissa had given her the  
>Christmas before her death. To Maggie's knowledge, it had never been hung up,<br>as it was intended to be, but that was not surprising, but it had most  
>definitely been loved.<p>

In under half an hour, Maggie discovered her diploma and crucifix  
>missing too, along with the original copy of her senior thesis. There was no<br>doubt in her mind that her daughter was gone, and not coming back. William's  
>room had been cleared of eighty percent of its contents, it pleased her a small<br>amount to notice Dana had taken the stuffed lion she had given him when she  
>first saw him.<p>

She wasn't aware of the tears streaming down her cheeks, leaving  
>salty trails on her skin. She realised she would have to call the FBI, make<br>them aware of her daughter's departure. She would ring Mr. Skinner. If he  
>wasn't in on it he deserved to know first. She'd try and get hold of those<br>other agents Dana had work with, the one who'd helped her find Mulder and his  
>new partner, the one who adored William almost as much as she did. But for now<br>she'd just sit and pray. For herself, wishing to survive the loss of another  
>daughter. For Dana, a safe journey to the one place where she truly belonged,<br>with Mulder. Mulder, she'd pray for him too, he'd had a hard life, which she  
>hoped would improve, even if it did feel like he'd stolen her daughter. And for<br>little baby William, she prayed for his safety more than anything else. And  
>selfishly, she prayed that Dana would tell William how much his grandma loved<br>him, even if she couldn't be with him.

* * *

><p>Skinner pulled his glasses off, and rubbed his itchy eyes. He<br>hadn't slept for 36 hours. He had already pulled an all-nighter and was on his  
>way home when Maggie Scully contacted him at a few minutes to 11. He had driven<br>to her apartment, and concurred with her interpretation of Scully's absence.  
>After that he had contacted the proper authorities for an investigation such as<br>this within the FBI, as well as Agents Doggett and Reyes on Maggie Scully's  
>suggestion. He had then proceeded to assist with the search of the apartment,<br>well into the night.

Now was the moment he dreaded, informing Mrs. Scully that there  
>was nothing to warrant inquiries to an abduction type situation, but also<br>nothing to suggest that she had left by her own free will. True some personal  
>artefacts were missing, but to those who wanted Dana Scully dead, that would be<br>an obvious step: make it look as normal as possible. His own thoughts were  
>running rampant. What if they had kidnapped her? Or if they had tricked her?<br>That would be no mean feat, he suspected. She was sharp, and very rarely let  
>her emotions get the better of her.<p>

He was halfway over to where Maggie Scully still sat when a shout  
>emerged from one of the agents. Said agent was waving a manila envelope<br>frantically and shouting something. Monica Reyes grabbed it and slid her finger  
>under the flap. She shook the contents onto the table. 6 smaller envelopes fell<br>out, along with 5 postcards. With one gloved hand she poked the mass of paper  
>around gingerly. Once she flipped them all over, she began to read the names<br>off, her mouth forming the shape of the words, a reminder that English wasn't  
>her first language.<p>

"Oh." She sucked in a large breath. Doggett was at her side in an  
>instant.<p>

"What?" He asked quickly, worry clouding his features.

"Look." She replied softly, expression unsure.

Skinner moved over to join them. He too checked the recipitants of  
>each letter: John, Monica, Skinman, Mom, Charlie and Jules, Bill and Tara. The<br>postcards were addressed to: Jen, Duncan, Eddie, Matty and Katy.

"Mrs. Scully!" Monica called "Would you please come with me?"

"Of course. Is something wrong?" She rushed over to them

"That's hard to say," Skinner replied "You might want to come with  
>us."<p>

"Uh, sure, fine." She followed Monica who had collected up the  
>letters.<p>

Doggett handed the larger envelope to another agent and requested  
>it be checked for fingerprints.<p>

"Mrs. Scully, we've found these letters-" Monica started

"Are they from Dana?" She asked excitedly

"They may be."

"May be?"

"I'm pretty sure they are." She continued

"they must be. These are here brothers, and their children."

"Here," She handed over the letter titled 'Mom'.

"Thank you." She scanned the page, taking in each word quickly "Oh  
>my god," Maggie gasped "Fox,"<p>

"Excuse me,"

"He's written to me too, he's with Dana, and William, they're  
>safe." She handed Monica the letter.<p>

_Dear Mom,_

_I am truly sorry to do this to  
>you, and I hope you can understand my reasoning. Mulder approached me<br>electronically a short while ago, with plans that would allow us to be almost  
>completely safe, be together and raise William together without fear for any of<br>our lives. _

_This is an opportunity that I  
>cannot afford to pass up, so as you must already know, I've left with him. I<br>can't tell you where we've gone, but you'll be the first to know once it becomes  
>safe for us to be out in the open again.<em>

_Please don't be angry. I love  
>him. Always have, you must know that by now. I promise to be careful, and keep<br>William as out of danger as it possible to keep him. Let's just hope he not too  
>much like his father in that respect.<em>

_I love you Mom,_

_ Dana  
>xxx<em>

_Dear  
>Maggie,<em>

_I am deeply sorry to steal your  
>daughter and grandson away in the dead of night like this. But they're my<br>family, and I must do everything in my power to keep them safe. I will allow no  
>harm to come to them, I give you my word on that. <em>

_Thank you for raising the most  
>wonderful woman in the world, I owe you a eternal debt for creating and<br>nurturing Dana. God know where I'd be without her. Six feet under I guess. And  
>also, I must thank you for becoming such a mother figure to me. I never<br>understood what it was like to have a family until you and Scully welcomed me  
>into yours.<em>

_Thank you,_

_Fox_

Monica allowed a grin to work its way across her face. She was  
>with Mulder, thank god. With renewed vigour, she tore into her own letter.<p>

_Monica  
>Reyes,<em>

_Thank you. For being a much  
>needed friend to Scully, for looking after our son, and taking such great care<br>of the X Files. _

_I know that Scully is really  
>going to miss you, and I hope the day in which we can again meet come sooner<br>rather than later._

_ F__ox  
>Mulder<em>

_Mon,_

_By now you probably know what's  
>going on and why, by normal methods or some sort of feeling. However you know I<br>hope you approve._

_I told you that you reminded me  
>of my sister. What I never told you was that you eased the pain and the guilt I<br>had been suffering for the past seven years, you brought back some of the  
>happiness she had given me. Thank you.<em>

_Thank you for delivering  
>William. I'm not sure if I said that to you either. His survival is completely<br>down to you, which I hope you will one day be able to comprehend, with children  
>of your own. <em>

_I'm going to miss you, but I  
>promise, one day we can actually go shopping like I promised. Pinky swear.<em>

_Love  
>Dana xx<em>

_P.S. Don't take as long as me and  
>Mulder. It can't be healthy.<em>

Her grin widened, and tears fell from her eyes. She hadn't thought  
>about Dana leaving before, and now she was gone, she wished she had had a<br>chance to say goodbye. But she knew it was for the better. And she also knew  
>Dana wouldn't break her word. One day they would go on that long planned<br>shopping spree. Hell, they had pinky sworn. She turned to see John  
>staring at his letter, with suspiciously misty eyes.<p>

"Here!" He thrust it at her.

_John,_

_Thanks for being my temporary  
>partner. I am mortified to think about how foul I was to you. You didn't<br>deserve it. My behaviour, and to be stuck with a crazy hormonal woman looking  
>for her best friend. Who sometimes lost their grip on cups of water – sorry<br>about that. They did sort of throw you in the deep end there. _

_Thank you for saving my life,  
>and protecting my son's. Thank you for dealing with all of Mulder's macho crap,<br>and not beating him to a pulp. Or letting him beat you into one. _

_I hope I haven't dented your  
>career too deeply, maybe you and Monica get your lives back on track (in more<br>ways than one), without the hindrance that the X Files appears to be._

_I owe you one for that Jesus  
>parasite. I won't forget it.<em>

_Dana._

_Agent  
>Doggett,<em>

_I could never thank you enough  
>for protecting Scully in my absence, or whatever the hell that was. I don't<br>want to think about what she may have done without you to keep her grounded.  
>However much it pissed her off.<em>

_Also, I must apologise for  
>hitting you. That was uncalled for, I know understand, better than I did at the<br>time, that you are not a Kersh clone, but more importantly I understand that  
>you are a pretty good guy. No, a pretty damn great guy.<em>

_Maybe we could have been  
>friends if I wasn't such an ass. Maybe we'll have the chance to try?<em>

_Fox  
>Mulder <em>

She hugged him, so he could reproduce his tough exterior.

"Thanks," He whispered gruffly in her ear, before breaking away.  
>She didn't miss him carefully fold and place the letter in his pocket. Finally<br>Skinner pulled out his letter and shook it open smartly.

"Skinman," He muttered, shaking his head and chuckling softly  
>"Asshole."<p>

_Walter,_

_I am really going to miss you.  
>I cannot understand how I distrusted you, and thought of you as a possible<br>murderer or mole. Thankfully Mulder always believed in you, and showed me the  
>truth in his claims. I must apologise for suspecting me. My near-accusations<br>and personal assumptions were unfounded and just plain wrong. _

_You have been a friend to me,  
>Mulder, and the X Files, in times when I most likely didn't deserve it. You<br>were my rock during Mulder's abduction, and I doubt I would still be something  
>near sane if it wasn't for you support during his death period. I have come to<br>depend on you, in many ways, and I will miss the stability and wisdom that you  
>bring to my life.<em>

_I hope you don't mind, but we  
>will bring William up to know about you, same with Monica and John, and one day<br>we'll make sure he gets to meet you._

_Thank  
>you,<em>

_Love  
>Dana<em>

_Skinman,_

_All in all you've been a great  
>boss. You've dealt fantastically with all the crap we (mainly I) have thrown<br>your way. But you've become a friend to, and an uncle figure to William, as  
>much as he understands anyway. <em>

_I also thank you for looking  
>after Scully for me, you kept one of the most important things in my life safe<br>and sane. Thank you, thank you, thank you._

_And, by the way, I totally  
>forgive you for that stunt you pulled in that lame excuse of a movie. Thank god<br>it tanked._

_I'm gonna miss you, you big  
>bald beautiful man,<em>

_Mulder (The pain in the ass)_

He burst into fits of laughter, loud guffaws bursting forth,  
>although not all the tears he cried were of mirth.<p>

Monica was still sharing Doggett's embrace, smiling brightly.  
>Because she knew that wherever her friends were, they were smiling too.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Well I  
>know this sounds like the end, hell it may be. But I want to know if you guys<br>want anymore. I could do something about Mulder and Scully on the run, or  
>settling down, or meeting her family and Skinner and Doggett and Reyes again...<br>Or all of the above. Your choice.


End file.
